(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fiberboard (fibreboard) splice apparatus, a corrugate machine including this fiberboard splice apparatus, and a fiberboard feed method, and more particularly to a fiberboard splice apparatus, a corrugate machine including this fiberboard splice apparatus, and a fiberboard feed method, which are suitable for automatization of a preparatory process for fiberboard splice.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 is an illustration of a mechanical construction of a single facer part of a corrugate machine which produces a corrugated fiberboard sheet.
As FIG. 14 shows, mill roll stands 52, which are made to unwind (unroll) roll fiberboard (rolled base paper) 53 and 54 for fiberboard supply, being located before and after a single facer 51 [that is, on the upstream and downstream sides in a web conveying direction (web advancing direction)]. The roll fiberboard 53 is paper put presently in use for production, while the roll fiberboard 54 is paper placed in a stand-by condition to be fed immediately to the single facer 51 in place of the roll fiber board 53 in the case of an exhaustion of the roll fiberboard or a fiberboard replacement involved in an order change. At the replacement (interchange) of the roll fiberboard 53 with the roll fiberboard 54, a fiberboard splice apparatus 56 joints or connects the front end (tip) portion of a new fiberboard (fiberboard to be supplied from the roll fiberboard 54; new web) to the rear end portion of the old fiberboard (fiberboard to be fed from the roll fiberboard 53; old web) in an overlapped condition.
Secondly a description will be given hereinbelow of the outline of the fiberboard splice apparatus 56.
As FIG. 14 shows, the fiberboard splice apparatus 56 is located on a bridge 55 installed to extend above the mill roll stands 52 and the single facer 51. In this fiberboard splice apparatus 56, a fiberboard splice unit 60 is situated to be movable in the web conveying direction. That is, the fiberboard splice unit 60 is placed to be movable from the upstream side to the downstream side in the web advancing direction. In general, in the splice works, the fiberboard splice unit 60 is shifted to a predetermined position above the new fiberboard (in this case, the fiberboard to be supplied from the roll fiberboard 54). Incidentally, although a dancer roll and others are incorporated into the fiberboard splice apparatus 66, they are omitted here from the illustration.
In addition, referring to FIG. 15, a detailed description will be given hereinbelow of the fiberboard splice unit 60.
As FIG. 15 shows, upper and lower guide rolls 62 and 63 are set on both side frames 61 of the fiberboard splice unit 60 extending in a web cross direction. On an inner side of the frame 61, there are set a pair of frames 64a and 64b made to rock around an axis X of the upper guide roller 62, and to these frames 64a and 64b, there are respectively attached fixed stop bars 66a, 66b, movable stop bars 67a, 67b, pressing bars 68a, 68b and knives 69a, 69b. These will collectively be referred to hereinafter as fiberboard splice parts 65a and 65b. 
Additionally, a suction device (not shown) is built in the pressing bars 68a and 68b to provide a function to suck and hold a new fiberboard (new web) forwarded from a roll fiberboard. In the illustration, the new fiberboard 54a is sucked and held by the pressing bar 68b. 
As FIG. 15 shows, as this fiberboard splice parts 65a and 65b, two sets of fiberboard splice parts are located symmetrically in conjunction with the roll fiberboard 53 [old fiberboard (old web) 53a] and the roll fiberboard 54 [new fiberboard (new web) 54a], respectively. In this illustration, the old web 53a from the roll fiberboard (old roll fiberboard) 53 unrolled travels on one fiberboard splice part 65a side while the new web 54a from the roll fiberboard (new roll fiberboard) 54 unrolled is in the stand-by condition on the other fiberboard splice part 65b side. Additionally, a pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape 70 is adhered onto the tip portion of the new web 54a. 
Furthermore, a brief description will be given hereinbelow of the fiberboard splice process.
First of all, in response to a fiberboard splice command, the movable stop bar 67a of the fiberboard splice part 65a is shifted to hold the old web 53a together with the fixed stop bar 66a to stop the traveling of the old web 53a. Following this, both the fiberboard splice parts 65a and 65b are rotated to cause the pressing bars 68a and 68b to approach each other and finally come into contact with each other so that the adhesion between the new and old webs 53a and 54a takes place through the use of the pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape 70. Then, the knife 69a of the fiberboard splice part 65a is actuated to cut the old web 53a. Thereafter, an acceleration roll 71 makes the new web 54a, being in a stopping state after the fiberboard splice, travel while accelerated, thus returning to the ordinary operating condition.
Although the above description involves the fiberboard splice process after the pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape 70 is attached onto the front end portion of the new web 54a and the new web 54a is held on the pressing bar 68b, a preparatory process is necessary before this state.
This preparatory process will be described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16D.
First of all, as shown in FIG. 16A, a new roll fiberboard (roll fiberboard for feeding a new web 54a) 54 is put on a fiberboard supply carriage 57 to be carried into a predetermined position between arms 52a and 52a of a mill roll stand 52. The front end portion of the new roll fiberboard 54 is fixed with a tape 58 to prevent the new roll fiberboard 54 from getting loose during conveyance.
Secondly, as shown in FIG. 16B, when the new roll fiberboard 54 has been carried into the predetermined position, the arms 52a and 52a of the mill roll stand 52 chuck the new roll fiberboard 54 with their end portions and lifts the new roll fiberboard 54 so that the new web 54a can be drawn out therefrom.
Following this, an operator peels the tape 58 or cuts it, and then, as shown in FIG. 16C, the tip portion of the new roll fiberboard 54 is pulled out to take out the new web 54a and is introduced through a predetermined roll up to the fiberboard splice part 65b of the fiberboard splice unit 60.
In this case, for easy preparatory work, the fiberboard splice part 65b of the fiberboard splice unit 60 is pushed down to a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 15. In this connection, the position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 15 is referred to as a xe2x80x9cstand-by positionxe2x80x9d, while the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in the illustration is called the xe2x80x9cpreparatory positionxe2x80x9d.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16D, the new web 54a introduced into the fiberboard splice part 65b is guided through the guide roll 62, the fixed stop bar 66b and the knife 69b to the pressing bar 68b, and the tip portion thereof is cut to remove the fiberboard of a predetermined appropriate length (for example, approximately one turn of the fiberboard roll). The cut tip portion is held by the pressing bar 68b and the pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape 70 is adhered onto a surface thereof. Thereafter, as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 15, the frame 64b is rotated up to the normal stand-by position, at which the preparation (setup) for the fiberboard splice process reaches completion.
In this case, the tip portion of the new web 54a, for example, corresponding to approximately one turn of a roll fiberboard, is abandoned. This is because, when the tape 58 is peeled or cut, the new web 54a can get torn at the position corresponding to one turn of the fiberboard or a portion of the tape 58 can be left. In addition, for example, during the storage, a surface of the fiberboard can get torn or its moisture or the like can vary abnormally, and in such a case, the fiberboard may be cut to remove the fiberboard of a length corresponding to more-than one turn.
Meanwhile, in the above-mentioned preparation for the fiberboard splice process, an operator manually conducts the following operations: that is, after the new roll fiberboard 54 is chucked by the mill roll stand 52, not only the tape 58 is peeled but also the tip portion of the new web 54a fed from the new roll fiberboard 54 is forwarded to run over the pressing bar 68b and is cut and even the pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape 70 is attached onto the cut portion.
However, since such manual operations take time in the preparatory stage for the fiberboard splice process, difficulty is experienced in enhancing the machine availability factor. Particularly, for example, in a case in which the replacement of roll fiberboard is frequent according to various orders, the improvement of the machine availability factor becomes difficult and a large burden is imposed on the operator.
The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a fiberboard splice apparatus, a corrugate machine equipped with this fiberboard splice apparatus, and a fiberboard feed method, which are capable of shortening the time to be taken for the preparation for the fiberboard splice process to enhance the machine availability factor by eliminating the manual operation in the preparation for the fiberboard splice process for increasing the rate of the automatization (that is, by enhancing the rate of automatization for taking a step toward the full automation).
For this purpose, a fiberboard splice apparatus according to the present invention comprises a fiberboard splice part for adhering an old fiberboard fed from one roll fiberboard to an end portion of a new fiberboard fed from the other roll fiberboard to accomplish fiberboard splice therebetween and a fiberboard feed device for forwarding the new fiberboard, fed by unrolling the other roll fiberboard, to the fiberboard splice part, wherein the fiberboard feed device includes a fiberboard feed roll placed along an axial direction of the roll fiberboard to make the other roll fiberboard rotatable in a state brought into contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard, and a pair of pickup (catch) members located to interpose the fiberboard feed roll for picking up a tip portion of the other roll fiberboard while coming into sliding contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard.
The fiberboard splice apparatus according to the present invention can eliminate the manual operation in the preparation for the fiberboard splice process to enhance the rate of the automation; in consequence, it is possible to shorten the time to be needed for the preparation for the fiberboard splice process and to enhance the machine availability factor. Add to it that, since the bidirectional unrolling can automatically be made with such simple means as to rock the fiberboard feed roll or the like, the automatization of the fiberboard splice apparatus is realizable at a low cost.
Preferably, a rocking means is provided to rock the fiberboard feed roll and the pickup member up to a predetermined position in accordance with the unrolling direction of the other roll fiberboard.
In addition, preferably, the rocking means is composed of a rocking frame made rockable, a rocking frame actuator for rocking the rocking frame and a control means for controlling the rocking frame actuator.
Still additionally, it is also appropriate that a pickup member rocking means is provided to rock the pickup member independently with respect to the fiberboard feed roll.
Yet additionally, the pickup member rocking means is composed of a pickup member supporting member made rockable, a supporting member actuator for rocking the pickup member supporting member, and a control means for controlling the supporting member actuator.
Moreover, the pickup member rocking means is equipped with a fiberboard detection sensor for detecting the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard picked up by the pickup member.
Still moreover, the pickup member is made up of a finger having a function to pick up the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard and a function to guide the new fiberboard fed from the other roll fiberboard, and a cutter having a function to pickup the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard and a function to cut a tape used for adhering the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard to a roll outer circumferential surface.
In this case, the finger is constructed as a flat-plate-like member extending along a cross direction of the other roll fiberboard, and the cutter is made so that its tip portion has a function to cut the tape and made to be movable in the cross direction of the other roll fiberboard.
Furthermore, the fiberboard splice apparatus further comprises a fiberboard detection sensor for sensing the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard picked up by the pickup member, a cutter actuator for shifting the cutter in a cross direction of the other roll fiberboard, a fiberboard feed roll actuator for rotating the fiberboard feed roll, and control means for issuing a control signal for operating each of the cutter actuator and the fiberboard feed roll actuator, with the control means, when the fiberboard detection sensor senses the tip portion of the roll fiberboard, issuing a signal to the fiberboard feed roll actuator for stopping the rotation of the fiberboard feed roll and further issuing a signal to the cutter actuator to shift the cutter in the cross direction of the other roll fiberboard for cutting the tape used for adhering the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard to the roll outer circumferential surface thereof.
Still furthermore, the fiberboard splice apparatus further comprises a fiberboard feed roll actuator for rotationally driving the fiberboard feed roll and a clutch designed to make connection and disconnection of a driving force from the fiberboard feed roll actuator.
In addition, the fiberboard splice apparatus further comprises a pair of roll supporting frames for supporting the fiberboard feed roll at their end portions and guide members fixedly secured to the roll supporting frames to guide, to the fiberboard splice part, the other roll fiberboard picked up by the pickup member.
Still additionally, the fiberboard splice apparatus further comprises a tape detection sensor for detecting the presence of the tape used for adhering the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard to the roll outer circumferential surface, a fiberboard feed roll actuator for rotating the fiberboard feed roll and control means for outputting a control signal for operating the fiberboard feed roll actuator, with the control means, when the presence of the tape is sensed by the tape detection sensor, driving the fiberboard feed roll actuator to set a rotational speed of the fiberboard feed roll at a value below a predetermined rotational speed.
Yet additionally, a fiberboard end processing device is provided to cut the new fiberboard, fed by the fiberboard feed device, by a predetermined length from its tip portion.
Moreover, a tape adhering device is provided to adhere a pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape onto an end portion of the new fiberboard.
Furthermore, a fiberboard splice apparatus comprises a fiberboard splice part for adhering an old fiberboard fed from one roll fiberboard to an end portion of a new fiberboard fed from the other roll fiberboard to accomplish fiberboard splice therebetween and a fiberboard feed device for forwarding the new fiberboard, fed by unrolling the other roll fiberboard, to the fiberboard splice part, wherein the fiberboard feed device includes one fiberboard feed roll placed along an axial direction of the roll fiberboard, a pair of pickup members located to interpose the fiberboard feed roll therebetween for picking up a tip portion of the other roll fiberboard, a fiberboard feed roll actuator for rotationally driving the fiberboard feed roll, and control means for controlling the fiberboard feed roll actuator, with the fiberboard feed roll being rotated by the fiberboard feed roll actuator in accordance with a control signal from the control means for fiberboard feeding in a state where the fiberboard feed roll and the pickup member are brought into contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard.
The fiberboard splice apparatus according to the present invention can eliminate the manual operation in the preparation for the fiberboard splice process to enhance the rate of the automation; in consequence, it is possible to shorten the time to be needed for the preparation for the fiberboard splice process and to enhance the machine availability factor. Add to it that, since the bidirectional unrolling can automatically be made with such simple means as to rock the fiberboard feed roll or the like, the automatization of the fiberboard splice apparatus is realizable at a low cost.
A corrugate machine according to the present invention is characterized by comprising the above-mentioned fiberboard splice apparatus.
The corrugate machine according to the present invention can eliminate the manual operation in the preparation for the fiberboard splice process to enhance the rate of the automation; in consequence, it is possible to shorten the time to be needed for the preparation for the fiberboard splice process and to enhance the machine availability factor. Add to it that, since the bidirectional unrolling can automatically be made with such simple means as to rock the fiberboard feed roll or the like, the automatization of the fiberboard splice apparatus is realizable at a low cost.
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fiberboard feed method of feeding a new fiberboard to a fiberboard splice part for adhering an old fiberboard fed from one roll fiberboard to an end portion of the new fiberboard fed from the other roll fiberboard to accomplish fiberboard splice therebetween, comprising a first step of rocking one fiberboard feed roll and a pair of pickup members located to interpose the fiberboard feed roll in accordance with an unrolling direction of the other roll fiberboard and of rocking the pickup member independently of the fiberboard feed roll, and a second step of picking up a tip portion of the other roll fiberboard to feed the tip portion to the fiberboard splice part while rotating the other roll fiberboard through the use of the fiberboard feed roll in a state where the fiberboard feed roll and the pickup member are brought into contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard.
The fiberboard feed method according to the present invention can eliminate the manual operation in the preparation for the fiberboard splice process to enhance the rate of the automation; in consequence, it is possible to shorten the time to be needed for the preparation for the fiberboard splice process and to enhance the machine availability factor. Add to it that, since the bidirectional unrolling can automatically be made with such simple means as to rock the fiberboard feed roll or the like, the automatization of the fiberboard splice apparatus is realizable at a low cost.
Preferably, in the first step, in a case in which the other roll fiberboard is in a face-winding condition in which a fiberboard is wound in a state where its fiberboard face constitutes an outer surface, the fiberboard feed roll is brought into contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard to reach a first position and the tip portion of the one pickup member is brought into contact with the surface of the other roll fiberboard, while, in the case in which the other roll fiberboard is in a back-winding condition in which a fiberboard is wound in a state where its fiberboard back constitutes an outer surface, the fiberboard feed roll is brought into contact with a surface of the other roll fiberboard to reach a second position different from the first position and the tip portion of the other pickup member is brought into contact with the surface of the other roll fiberboard.
In addition, preferably, in the second step, a tape used for adhering the tip portion of the other roll fiberboard to the roll outer circumferential surface is cut in a state where the other roll fiberboard is picked up.